2024 Masters picks: Bet Xander Schauffele and two more at Augusta

Xander Schauffele +2200 (bet365)

By Spencer Aguiar

I fought the urge here to pick Rory McIlroy and instead will pivot to one of the hottest players on Tour in 2024 in Xander Schauffele. The American could have been even shorter than this price had he demonstrated a little better win equity over the past few seasons.

I understand that most don't think of Schauffele in terms of upside and major championship pedigree, but his 2024 statistical profile does quite the job of rivaling what I have for Scottie Scheffler.

Schauffele ranked first in my model this week for Proximity Over 200 yards in 2024, Weighted Proximity from 150-175 over a two-year running perspective, Expected Par-3 and Par-4 Scoring, Weighted Scrambling and Projected Strokes Gained Total.

That sounds like a return that we might get out of Scottie Scheffler, and it might finally be time for the American to announce his arrival in golf's history book.

I get the worry of past failures, but the data is there to finish the job. Bet him down to +1600 in the outright market.

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Will Zalatoris +3500 (FanDuel)

By Matt Gannon

Don't overthink it — bet Will Zalatoris at Will Zalatoris tracks. Just a few weeks ago, people were running to the books to grab Zalatoris at this number when his game started to show signs of momentum following his return after a serious back injury sidelined him for most of 2023. Patience is a virtue because that number and better are available right now.

His last two results are a missed cut at THE PLAYERS and a poor four days in Houston. However, the numbers show that he is fine despite those two underwhelming results. He gained strokes ball-striking in both of those starts and simply putted horrifically.

I understand, you may be thinking, “Well he is just a bad putter,” but Zalatoris has been putting tremendously in 2024, plus he is heading to a place in which he has putted well in his career, gaining at least a stroke per round in each of his two appearances, which resulted in a solo second and a tie for sixth.

I am not worried about the recent form, his ball-striking is amazing, and this is a track that suits him to a tee. Admittedly, he does his best work in these major championship conditions and is determined to break through for a green jacket.

Viktor Hovland +3500 (DraftKings)

By Tony Sartori

I don’t know much of anything, but one of the few things that college tried to teach me was the art of buying low on stocks. If that is not the case for Viktor Hovland this week, then I don’t know what is.

Following his victory at last year’s TOUR Championship, Hovland's next official start came in January at The Sentry, where he opened at +850 and closed at +950 on bet365. He has struggled to start 2024, but this is an overreaction, and I will take the bait on such a long number.

Many remember when Hovland made his amateur debut here in 2019 and went low among the debutants with a T32 finish, and he has only progressed since then with three straight top-30 finishes here, including his career-best tie for seventh at Augusta last year after starting with a share of the first-round lead.

Not to pull a Matthew McConaughey, but I want you to close your eyes and picture the top 10 golfers in the world. Based on the odds, Hovland is not in that group as of Monday morning, which I believe is a tremendous example of recency bias.